Appreciation instead of a throwaway society!
The introduction of #WasteFriday is Berlin's answer to today's throwaway society, boundless consumption, and endless resource waste. BSR ( Berlin's waste management company ) aims to launch this day of action, which is intended to become an annual event and is part of the European Week for Waste Reduction . The goal is to encourage all Berliners to significantly reduce their waste through simple ideas and easy-to-implement measures.
With the generous support of Berlin's waste management company (BSR) /#trenntmagazin, we celebrated the first #WasteFriday with a very special dinner. For one evening, we put bread in the spotlight and served an exquisite five-course meal.
But why bread in particular? Bread is one of the oldest and most culturally significant foods in the world. In recent times, it has become a cheap, disposable product of inferior quality. According to current estimates, total losses from baked goods in Germany amount to approximately 1.7 million tons per year. This means that one in five baked goods ends up in the trash in this country. That's equivalent to the harvest from a field larger than the island of Mallorca.
The three initiators (from right to left) of the dinner evening were Johanna Ernst from the team of food rescuers SIRPLUS , chef Sophia Hoffmann and Linda Lezius from the Food Research Lab & Creative Event Agency Wild & Root .
The three women complemented each other perfectly and together conjured up an entertaining evening with incredibly delicious food. Johanna not only ensured that there was plenty of rescued food and drinks available, but also encouraged everyone to share their best tips for using up leftover food. Meanwhile, Linda transformed the bakery into a cozy restaurant with her beautiful decorations and eye for aesthetics. Sophia, in turn, took care of the surplus bread and shared insights into the fascinating cultural history of bread and refined details surrounding the menu.
And this is what we had to eat:
First up, quite unconventionally, were crispy bread chips served directly on the table, accompanied by cauliflower cheese, radish leaf pesto, radish pickles, and fermented hummus. This was followed by a minestra di pane, a bread soup with beans, peppers, and dried Mediterranean herbs from the Berlin area. For the third course, chef Sophia presented handmade pasta filled with smoked eggplant, cumin, and toasted breadcrumbs. Next, she skillfully arranged crispy bread rolls with cooked grains seasoned with rice koji, braised baby beets, and pumpkin coleslaw with tahini dressing. Finally, a delicious dessert of spiced breadcrumb crackers, pear and cinnamon compote, pomegranate, and chocolate parfait brought the evening to a perfect close.
Besides a huge thank you to BSR, a second big thank you goes to the charming bakery Endorphina , toSoulbottles , and to the wonderful photographer Sandra , who perfectly captured the unforgettable atmosphere with her fantastic photos. For us and our fabulous guests, it was an unforgettable evening celebrating the value of food. Many thanks to everyone involved; we're already looking forward to the next time!
Sophia, Linda and Johanna
